Rory has only missed 7 games through injury in the last 3 years, all of those in 2015. We won’t mention his suspension in 2016 (Round 23) for trying to knock off Ebert over-sized melon as it is irrelevant to his durability.

2016 Form: ****

Rory started the season a little slowly post-Dangerfield with 96, 81 and 82 from 20 possessions per game in the first 3 rounds. He then found his groove with 12 centuries from the next 16 rounds and his worst score in that run was an 80 against the Dogs in round 7. Unfortunately he was rewarded with more defensive attention and only scored one more tonne in the final 4 matches (including 2 finals). All up, another strong season from Rory.

Consistency: ***

Rory is pretty consistent but he was penalized for dropping 4 sub-90 scores, the worst of those a 77 when tagged by Sheridan in Round 21. The most positive aspect of Rory is his high contested ball numbers and strong tackling that prevents him from dropping truly shocking numbers! Maybe I’m marking this section a little harshly?

Ceiling: ***

In 2016, Sloane’s ceiling wasn’t huge, only crossing 140 on 3 occasions (141, 141 and 145) from 12 tonnes in the regular season. In fact, across his entire career, Rory has scored 71 tonnes (including finals) but only crossed 150 on 3 occasions. Sure those scores were huge (172, 178 and 180), but don’t expect too many great captain scores from him.

Tag: ***

Rory has burned off some tough taggers like Curnow in Round 16 (114) and had some success in head-to-head match-ups but he has quite often dropped below 100 when tagged. As a percentage he has dropped below 100 points in about 60-80% of matches when tagged. Now that Dangerfield is gone (and Gibbs remains at Carlton), he’s only going to face more tagging.

Value: *

Unless you think he can replicate his 2014 average of 115, Rory is full-priced in 2016 and offers little value.

Overall: ***

Rory will give you 20-22 games with a guaranteed average of 105. Not overly exciting this season with discounted mids like Fyfe, Beams and Swallow around!

Verdict: With so many under-priced midfielders this season, is he really worth a precious midfield spot? Probably not but he’ll certainly be a POD if you run with him.

7 thoughts on “Player Review: Rory Sloane”

Strongly considering Sloane for the M6 spot in my starting line up due to 8 of his first 13 games at Adelaide Oval. In 2016 he averaged 119.91 at Adelaide Oval and I’m pretty sure his career average at the stadium is in excess of 120. 3 games below 100 with a low of 81 as well as 6/11 137+ scores in 2016. Also 8 of their first 13 games are night matches in which Sloane averaged 110.83 in 2016. Only deterrent with Sloane is his ability to average higher than other premium selections pre bye such as Ablett and Hannebery.

I had him, now I don’t. From memory, Rory has a history of sticking his face where it does not belong. Now, I’ll probably start with JPK or Rocky or one of the other uber premiums who won’t require a helmet this year.

Some AFL Fantasy positional changes have been revealed: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-12-01/assume-the-position-fantasy-positions-locked-in
Expect these to be the same in SuperCoach. And in case you’re wondering, the forward line is still rubbish 🙁

Uh oh… former Essendon ruckman John Barnes is leading a push to sue the AFL for the effects of concussion. This could get ugly. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/former-essendon-ruckman-john-barnes-leading-player-push-to-sue-afl-over-concussion-2017

International Rules: Fyfe spent a lot of time forward. There is speculation that this could continue into next year. At around $593K, he’ll still represent good value in the midfield, but it will be worth keeping this in mind.

In potentially SuperCoach relevant news, GWS has signed ex-Collingwood defender Lachlan Keeffe as a delisted free agent. He’ll be basement-priced next year, and can play at both ends of the ground. GWS has also floated the idea of him in the ruck.